Del Valle election sign flap heads to DA

[gabby garcia]

By: News 8 Austin Staff
http://news8austin.com/content/top_stories/271155/del-valle-election-sign-flap-heads-to-da

Some members of the Del Valle school board may be facing legal trouble.

Tuesday the board held its first meeting since the election. They swore in new officers and among them was David Mellenbruch. He was sworn in as Del Valle Independent School District’s board secretary. During the May 8 election, Mellenbruch ran against Gina Wagner and won by a margin of four votes.

News 8 obtained surveillance video showing Mellenbruch, board member Steven Hart and board vice president Ronald Wattinger bullying store owners to take Wagner’s election signs out of their windows. In one tape Wattinger clearly tells one store owner he's on the school board and said he had a problem with the bottom entry on the sign. Once the owner takes the sign down, Wattinger distances himself from him.
“He started talking loudly while I had customers here. So I said, 'OK, I don't want any trouble.' So, I went over there and just took the sign off and I put it down there," store owner Mugis Khawaja said.

Sign maker Patty Smelser believes the move is official oppression and turned the tapes over to the Travis County District Attorney's office. "They're not allowed to go in and use their status or to go into any business and have them remove property that does not belong to them,” Smelser said.

No school board members would talk about the tape or the allegations.

Although Wagner lost the election, she feels she can't ask for a recount because the current school board president, Richard Vasquez is also the treasurer for Mellebruch’s campaign.
(snip)

Mellenbruch won by 4 votes. That doesn't seem suspicious at all.

:eyes:

[sonias]

1. Mellenbruch sounds like a bully

What a dick!

"Del Valle has a bullying policy for the children that I think that the adults on the school board need to be able to take charge of themselves in ensuring that they’re also following that bullying policy," Wagner said.

Official oppression charges - I wonder what kind of a penalty that would draw? Probably not much.

The video story makes it clear that Mellenbruch doesn't even send his kids to Del Valle schools - he has them in private schools in the Eanes School District - i.e. Westlake.

I feel for Gina Wagner. She really should have won this race.